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In the state of Maine, parents now have the option to designate “nonbinary” as a gender option on the birth certificate of their minor children. Nonbinary people over the age of 18 may also request forms to receive a new birth certificate to reflect their true gender identity.
Both parents of the minor must sign a worksheet to show that they consent to the change as well as submit a notarized document to that effect, according to Maine TV station WCSH.
The application must also include a declaration from a licensed physician or mental health care provider that the request is consistent with the minor’s gender identity.
The move comes after the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed to the press earlier this year that it was considering shifting its rules for gender markers on birth certificates.
In 2018, the state began offering nonbinary people the option to change their gender markers on driver’s licenses and ID cards. Other states, like Minnesota, followed.
Last year, Maine expanded that option so that nonbinary people would be able to change their gender marker without a signature from a medical professional.
“These changes are really exciting and will make a significant difference in the lives of transgender folks like myself, and people whose gender identity is neither exclusively male nor exclusively female,” Gia Drew, program director at EqualityMaine, said in a press release. “We’ve heard from so many people, as well as from parents of trans and gender expansive youth, who’ve become so frustrated with the outdated process. I hope the news of these necessary and affirming changes bring some light to people during these unsettling times.”
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